Leatha's Barbeque used to be a four star joint to me. Their featured signature item USED to be the BBQ beef ribs. Since they moved to Petal they have gone waaaaay downhill and they really are no longer the same restaurant anymore. I've been trying for YEARS ever since they moved to Petal to get beef ribs or beef brisket and they NEVER have it! Just ONCE they told me they had some but it wouldn't be ready for many more hours. I don't eat pork and pork seems to be all they ever have here. Well after over one hundred attempts over the years to eat some beef BBQ here I've finally given up as they just obviously have no motivation to offer it anymore so I've got no motivation to even try anymore... Here is my review from back when they were actually still Leatha's Barbeque: "I've been eating at Letha's for many years going waaay back to when she was serving in a house. I REALLY miss when the beef bbq ribs were served on the BONE. They were these huge Fred Flintstone dinosaur bones that had huge amounts of meat on them!!! Now you just get the meat pulled off the bone so that takes away the gnawing off the bone joy of the bbq beef ribs :( If the bone sucking and gnawing joy was still there this would be a total five star place but it is still mighty fine bbq and well worth a visit. I do my best to stop here and grab some whenever I'm in the area but there are some surprise closures and odd hours I've discovered so it is wise to call ahead and make sure they are open when you are planning on going. Leatha told us right after ole Andrew Zimmern came that "that man just took one bite of that coon 'n opossum and wasted the rest." FYI they don't have any of that on the menu so don't expect to see that." So sad to see this classic BBQ joint I've been eating at since I was a kid decline to the point it is now... read more

Last month, my son and I were in a hurry on our way to visit a church on a Wednesday night. We're from out of town and saw other great reviews about this restaurant. I will simply say our barbecue sandwiches were absolutely INCREDIBLE. The young lady who took our order and served us our food through the window was so sweet and personable. Thank you guys for your excellent service and food. We thoroughly enjoyed it and if we ever pass through Mississippi again, we will definitely stop by for more! read more

The Food is amazing! One of the best BBQ places I had tried. The service is friendly and fast. The ambiance is calm and relaxed. read more

Leatha's Bar-B-Que - The entrance to the place. - Barbeque Near Me - Petal, Mississippi

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I can't believe I've never put up a review of Leathas Bbq. I travel for work and this was always a must stop for me when I was in Hattiesburg. It's sad to hear that they have moved though. I'm sure Covid hit them very hard but it was sure the right business decision to love to a better location. Personably I loved the old location. There was always something special about walking into that old school house. I loved the original wood floors. The star of the show was always the chicken & pecan pie for me. Next time I'm in the area I'll try to find the new location. read more

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This will be quick - If you're in the area, go visit and order the ribs, with extra sauce on the side. If you feel like reading more, read Richard R's review here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/leathas-bar-b-que-inn-hattiesburg?hrid=fxwbEOKUgky6JIrZeT-8BQ&utm_campaign=www_review_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct) read more

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Difficult to find, but so worth the effort. The experience began with a GPS adventure to find the place. It is hidden in the middle of an RV sales lot. When we family that runs the place have an amazing read more

My pulled pork was swimming in grease. Not very appetizing. I ate my fried potatoes and threw the rest away. read more

Leatha's Bar-B-Que - I've gotten food Togo from here before. But this much grease is not appetizing - Barbeque Near Me - Petal, Mississippi

First of all how does this place only have 184 reviews on Yelp and only 4 stars??? I'll start with the atmosphere. It's extremely no frills but homey. Servers were all friendly. Although it's no frills, it was still really clean and well kept. It has a very Deep South vibe. I dug it. Now, here is the kicker. I'm not a bbq eater. I actually don't like it much. I'm especially not someone that eats beef, but I can eat chicken every so often. With that said, we're in Hattiesburg for the weekend and saw a lot of rave reviews about Leatha's, and my husband loves bbq, so we stopped by and wow. Just, wow. I got 1/2 chicken with the cole slaw and sweet potato fries and my husband got the beef ribs (they weren't on the bone they were pulled?). My chicken was good and the sides were delicious. I also loved the sauce. It was sweet and I think vinegar based? Don't quote me on that though. Anyway here is what shocked me..I loved, and I mean LOVED the beef ribs. Me..someone who never eats beef/doesn't enjoy beef. The fact that the beef ribs were my favorite thing about my meal says A LOT. Leatha's, I salute you because you're the first (and probably only place) I'd actually eat beef ribs from. They were so incredibly tender. Just straight up perfection. My husband was laughing at me the entire time because he was shocked that I was actually eating beef. So guys, this place is the real deal. GO HERE. read more

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New location, same great food. New location is updated but has considerably smaller dining area compared to old one and new location has outside seating which old location didn't. They were out of my favorite which are beef ribs so I went with a large pork plate with fries and potato salad and a sausage dog. Tastes like the younger generation is ready to keep the legacy going. read more

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I haven't been to Hattiesburg in over 20 years, but last weekend we took the RV out for a quick spin and headed to Picayune and then Hattiesburg for a quick day trip. We didn't arrive in town until 2:00 PM and were ready to eat lunch. I pulled out my phone, clicked on the Yelp app and filtered out the top rated restaurants. Low and behold, Leatha's was the top rated pick so we opted to give it a try. The address is correct in Yelp, however, the map location is not correct. The restaurant sits way back off the highway, so it's easy to miss if you are not paying attention to the signage on Hwy 98. Anyway, we found the place with not too much trouble and there was plenty of room for RV parking off to the side of the restaurant. The building itself is very unassuming, but in a cool, rustic kind of way. And you can see the small smokehouse outside the restaurant where "all the magic happens". When we walked in, we noticed that there were plenty of picnic style tables setup and the floors were unfinished plywood; all of which added to the rustic charm. We were immediately greeted by our server Glenda, who was the nicest and most attentive server ever. She introduced us to Ms. Leatha's 2 daughters that run the place now that she has passed away. However, Ms. Leatha's picture resides on the wall right above the entrance to the kitchen as a reminder of her legacy. We were told that only her daughters have the recipe to her secret BBQ sauce. Now to the food. My wife and I split the four meat plate, which included a 1/4 chicken, pulled pork, pork ribs and beef ribs. The chicken was super juicy and cooked to perfection. The skin was slightly crisped with a deep smoky flavor. The generous serving of pulled pork was so tender that a simple stab with the fork shredded it up one bite at a time. The pork ribs were as tender as I imagined and fell off the bone as soon as you bit into them. However, it was the beef ribs that truly one me over and made me such a huge fan. I've eaten a lot of BBQ, and some places just don't know how to cook beef ribs as I've had then served tough and sometimes rubbery. However, Leatha's beef ribs (served off the bone) are just as tender as the pulled pork and they melted in your mouth. I would have liked to gnaw on a beef bone, but these are the best beef ribs I've ever had. All of Leathas's BBQ is served with their secret sauce on the side. And when I say on the side, I mean we got a mug and a small pitcher of BBQ sauce along with a platter of delicious hot rolls. The sauce has just the right blend of sweet/vinegar/tangy flavor that is best kept a secret. For those who don't like BBQ sauce, the smoked flavor from Leatha's smoker is delicious all on its own. However, I'm a "saucy" guy and poured it on thick. The potato salad was ok and featured huge chunks of potatoes mixed throughout. It definitely had a little bit of a mustard aftertaste with it though. The cole slaw was just ok and also had a pronounced "mustardy" taste as well. I'm not a huge mustard guy, so I thought these sides were just ok. However, the baked beans were delicious and had a pronounced BBQ/brown sugar sweetness that I would definitely recommend. This place is very kid friendly and they encouraged my picture taking, which I politely asked before proceeding. All in all, we left very happy and very full. read more

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I could write a book about my experience this evening at Letha's ! From the greeting you get when you step inside , to the tour of the pit , THE BEST ! I ordered the ribeye steak with a side of ribs. My other sides were fried potatoes and baked beans. They also bring a hot roll to the table . The dinning area is filled with pictures and autographs. Really cool to look at while you wait . While I was looking around at the pics. on the wall, they brought out some potato salad and slaw !! WOW !!! I have never had better service, never ! The ribeye is also the best I've had ! If you are ever in Hattiesburg, MS. , do yourself a favor and stop in . Soak it all up ! Go get Full read more

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Leatha's is by far the best BBQ anywhere!!! Service is extremely pleasant!!! We love Leatha's girls!! The Smith's! read more

Delicious. Want a real taste of rural MS (both food wise and culturally)? Go here. The restaurant is in a shack on HWY 98. The food tastes so country and delicious. When the owner Leatha died, she gave her fortune to Southern Miss, which tells you what a giving person she was. The inside looks just as country as the outside. When people walk buy, you can feel the building shake a little, hehe. The food tho is flavored just right! I am a pulled pork kinda girl but also really enjoyed tasting other people's food who I came with. Everything was great! Yum! read more

Leatha's Bar-B-Que - Barbeque Near Me - Petal, Mississippi

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the food here was great! service was all there and very respectful! and it had the best barbecue vibe!

This was a cool place to eat! The lady had some preacher guy being a major jerk but she handled it great. I loved the food and that they were running hgtv! Thank you for being so lovely and authentic! read more

Leatha's Bar-B-Que - Barbeque Near Me - Petal, Mississippi

Best BBQ I've ever had. Memphis? Nah. Kansas City? No way. Texas? Don't make me laugh. The best BBQ in the world is at Leatha's. The pulled pork, pork ribs, and chicken are all top-notch. read more

Came here to eat after spending a week in the field at Camp Shelby. Was this a blessing or what. I was hungry, at least I thought I was hungry because I ordered the 3 meat plate. I finished about 1/2 the plate but good part was I had leftovers for dinner. Service was prompt, I got a sweet tea for a drink. I mean, what else is there to drink when it comes to BBQ? We had our meal and afterwards, we were shown the smoker and talked to the cook about the process. Really amazing atmosphere here. It's a wide open place with cheap furniture around but a great atmosphere. I'd much rather eat at a place like this than something fancy where the food is average. I'm kind of picky when it comes to BBQ sauce but I really liked theirs. It was so good that I bought a bottle and brought it home to Orlando with me. read more

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The biggest issue I have with this restaurant is that they never have everything on the menu. It appears that they are more concerned about settling out than having what you want to order. They need to find a balance between having all dishes available and having extra at the end of the day. read more

Not the place I remember. We were seated promptly and given menus. When we went to order beef ribs, we were informed they were out. Okay, but you only have 4 entrees. That's ok, but we ordered chicken and mac n cheese, but they were out of mac n cheese, too. The food came quickly. The chicken was dry and the fried potatoes didn't have much of a flavor. That was the last time I saw the server. No refill on the unsweet tea for me. Avoid this place at all costs. You will be disappointed. read more

Drove a little out of the way to check this out based on the Rating and Husband saw it on a foodie show. Not impressed at all. Didn't have the Beef Ribs & Menu was pretty slim. Nothing extraordinary about the place that we could tell. read more

One of the best damn steaks I ever had in my life. All of the portions are huge so come hungry. Maybe even skip a meal. The meat is smoked in a method they've used for decades. Their original sweet BBQ sauce is pretty great too. I also tried the pork ribs. It's just good time country cooking with a unique flavor. read more

Leatha's Bar-B-Que - Barbeque Near Me - Petal, Mississippi

Highly recommended! Did not disappoint! How this place isn't 5 stars on every review is beyond me. I would travel from NJ just to go to this place. The food was stunningly good. The ribs were fall off the bone (not kidding!!!) tender. We were all in heaven. Staff was nice and fast and their food was outstanding. read more

Best bbq I've tasted in petal so far thank you for the hospitality towards me and my mother who is battling cancer

It's pretty good. I don't know it was better before it came to Petal since it has a huge reputation around here, but I feel like you can get better bbq at three or four places in Hattiesburg. read more

Never have any meats you want to eat when trying to dine in. Wish they would post a sign letting customers know what they are out of. Every time we try to dine in they are out of certain meats and sides item. read more

I've eaten here a few times over the years and the service gets worse and worse. The BBQ is awesome,the ribs are fall off the bone with great flavor and sweet BBQ sauce. The bushes pot beans they serve are always good even if canned! The potato salad is fresh and the tea is extra sweet. I just wish they would hire some wait staff that cares. I got ribs and chicken, beans and potato salad with a tea. It was $21 dollars to give a price point read more

Leatha's Bar-B-Que - Here is the BBQ joint - Barbeque Near Me - Petal, Mississippi

So I took my mom and dad to leatha's for their 59th anniversary and it lacked a lot in comparison to what it used to be. They were out of several menu items, including sweet tea, which is a staple for south Mississippi. It was very disappointing toilet my parents who hasn't eaten at leatha's in years. And the bathroom, o my goodness. The water in the toilet was brown and there was 2 toilets with no stall. There were 2 employees I had to wipe us a table to eat at. Just overall a total disappointment. May have been a bad night for the restaurant, I dunno. But from our experience, I would not recommend. Or at the very least call ahead to order out. read more

Driving threw to Grenada for work and yelp suggested as first pick for bbq and was very pleased. Service amazing everyone so friendly and inviting. Meal came out hot and juicy chicken but the cole slaw was the star of the plate . Saw the huge portion and thought never could finish but couldn't stop. Delicious truly stellar. read more

Leatha's Bar-B-Que - Cole slaw was delicious - Barbeque Near Me - Petal, Mississippi

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On my way to a military training and stop by to give it a shot. Was not disappointed at all if I am ever within 1 to 2 hours of this place I will definitely come back, some of the best barbecue I have had in the States. Luckily thanks to my job I've tried quite a few places in different States and this definitely ranks in the top 3. read more

Leatha's Bar-B-Que - Tried Leathas for the first time ever on my way to Georgia. OMG!!!THIS PLACE IS AMAZING. - Barbeque Near Me - Petal, Mississippi

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For many years of my family went out of our way on way to the gulf to go to Leatha's and completely loved every minute. The building, the staff and oh my oh my the ribs! Perfection! We have pics with staff, bought bottles of that amazing sauce on way out one of our all time bbq spot. Can't begin to tell you the heartbreaking experience of going to new location. I understand the need to own their building but not that one. And especially not the staff that was there. Felt we bothered them to even walk in, would not talk any more than absolutely necessary. But the saddest part of it all is the food is not the same at all. Sounds overdramatized but this experience has been heartbreaking. Will give them another try out of respect for Leatha and all her family that brought such joy to so many. read more

The last 3 times I have went here has been a huge disappointment. Got beef ribs a couple trips ago and it was a plate full of mushy meat and fat. The next time, no beef or pork ribs, so we left. Tonight no beef ribs and the pork ribs still had silver skin on back, tasted like they were boiled instead of smoked. The BBQ sauce was thinned down. Very poor service. Been going to Leatha's since it was in Foxworth and I have decided this will be my final trip. Friday evening at 5:30 and you have no beef ribs? Come on! I miss Ms Leatha, Applehead and Ms Bonnie! read more

Had the pork rib plate with Cole slaw and tater salad at the Petal location. Excellent fall off the bone ribs and the sauce made it even better. With Cole slaw and salad there was plenty since the portions are huge! Staff could not have been friendlier. If you want some good bbq, this is the place. I will definitely return and bring friends. read more

We last ate here maybe two years ago. I got food poisoning and was sick for three days. We gave it another try a couple of days ago. The service wasn't pleasant. Our waitress threw our plates and bowls on the table. We've never experienced that before. The food was trash. It was obviously precooked before being put on the grill. The sauce had been watered down. It's simply not what it used to be. We used to have our company dinners here. Never again. read more

Just drove 20 minutes out of the way to find a restaurant that doesn't exist anymore. Please update your Yelp page! My husband just yelled at me for 30 minutes for navigating us to a place that doesn't exist. Thanks Leatha's. read more

I thought for sure I had written a review of Leatha's already... or maybe I only thought so because I've been talking about this place nonstop since discovering it in early August. Whatever the case, I am happy to let anyone know who is willing to listen how great this place is!!! We were in route home to Atlanta from New Orleans after a long summer vacation road trip. It had been the most anticipated part of our vacation plans ever since seeing this place on The Food Networks show 'Best thing I ever Ate'. BBQ in my opinion is sacred... I mean, I think you should be licensed to have a grill or some sort of credentials to be able to handle such a delicious animal. It should literally be a sin to mishandle a prized meat such as pork ribs and should be punishable by a 24 hour soaking in cayenne pepper BBQ sauce!!! I'm serious folks, don't mess up a good pig!!! Leatha's clearly understands this because they have developed a BBQ so glorious that heavenly 'Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh' sound wafts out when you open the doors to this humble establishment. Greeted by Leatha's grand daughter, you are instantly made to feel like family. She talks to you like you've been her favorite customer for years and really genuinely seems to enjoy your company. THAT was a totally refreshing experience as compared to many restaurants today. The menu is simple: Beef or pork ribs, BBQ Chicken, a few sides, pecan pie for desert and a perfectly mixed sweet tea. It wasn't very long after ordering that I got my plate of this Oh So Amazing BBQ. HAVE YOU EVER tasted something that made you want to sing, and dance like a ballerina around the room... well I did!!! Leatha's grand daughter said it happens all to often, but I don't think the poor table sitting next to us had ever witnessed such a sight!!! No matter, I was happy to entertain because this food gave me that happy feeling that makes you wanna share it with people. I finished inhaling my entire order and couldn't leave without taking four more order to go so my friends back home could witness this taste for themselves. Unfortunately, somewhere between getting those orders and arriving home the selfish bug bit me and I kept them all to myself (shameful I know)!!! But I am finally out of ribs and need to do a road trip back... anyone ready to ride??? The taste is beyond description, and is worth the drive, Airplane, Greyhound, Amtrak, donkey or whatever means of transportation you can find to arrive at Leatha's front steps. When you go, give her grand daughter a big ole kiss and hug for me, rub her cheeks, look tenderly into her eyes and tell her "I'll be back soon!!!" LOL read more

Leatha's Bar-B-Que - Barbeque Near Me - Petal, Mississippi

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"Wow, look at all the four and five star reviews!" you say. "Why should I listen to the guy who gave it two stars?" you say. Let me tell you: Boiling. There. First, you oughtta know I've eaten BBQ all over the place, a few places in Texas and Oklahoma, a few more in Memphis, and an enormous amount over the years in Kansas City, not to mention all the places I've hit in travels here and there. I've even had a bit of that South Carolina BBQ some people like. The one thing all these quintessential styles have in common? Nothing is boiled, for Pete's sake. There are those who think that the secret to moist and tender BBQ is pre-boiling the meat. It's not so much a secret as a cheap shortcut (if not a dirty trick). Yes, even a beginner can make tender BBQ that way, but a real pitmaster doesn't need to cheat. Boiled BBQ is tender all right, so much it falls off the bone. Now people like to say they like ribs that fall off the bone, but they usually don't mean it literally. Like, if you pick up the end of a bone and lift it, it comes out clean and the meat stays on the plate. That's what you get at Leatha's. And moist? Not so much moist as soaking wet. It's BBQ for people with no teeth. It could come in jars. Gerber's BBQ. It's like eating BBQ and drinking a tall glass of warm water at the same time. You don't walk away waddling, you walk away sloshing. So why two stars instead of one? It was, hands down, the best boiled BBQ I've ever had. I can even see me having liked it when I was a kid before I discovered real BBQ. It's got some smoke, it's not over-seasoned, really not bad for sopping wet meat. I can see how people who have never had good BBQ might really like it. And so far, I've found no good BBQ down here in Southern Mississippi (don't get mad, locals, that's just my experience so far). Nevertheless, I wouldn't eat at Leatha's again unless somebody I was with insisted AND they were buying. And while the BBQ is half water, everything else is half sugar. The sauce tastes like someone took a jar of Memphis style sauce and mixed it four to one with simple syrup. Somebody remarked you could make lollipops out of it, it was so sweet. That was not hyperbole or exaggeration. That was a dead accurate description. The potato salad was incredibly sweet. Never had it that way before. The baked beans tasted like a can of Bush's honey-baked beans with a couple of tablespoons of sugar mixed in. Even the coleslaw was sweet. Actually, the coleslaw, which I usually hate, wasn't bad. The sugar covered the bitter in the cabbage, and there was none of that nasty celery seed in there. It was more a vinegar and sugar with a little salt dressing like you usually find with sliced cucumbers and onions or in a three bean salad. Sadly, the rolls, while not sweet, were baked from sour dough that night. No, not sourdough, I mean dough that had been left out so long it went seriously sour. Ever smelled rotten bread dough? This is the first time I've ever tasted it. I hope it's not that way every time. If it is, somebody has a very wrong idea about dough fermentation. The thing that really made me sad, though, was I loved the atmosphere. Great building and interior for a BBQ joint, relaxed, comfortable, lots of character. If you like mushy BBQ and all your sides sweet as candy, this is your place. But it isn't mine. read more

Leatha's Bar-B-Que - Barbeque Near Me - Petal, Mississippi

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I saw Leatha's on Bizarre Foods and knew that I had to go here while visiting family in Hattiesburg. YUM YUM YUM YUM!! If you love sweet and saucy BBQ, this is THE place to go. It's some of the BEST BBQ I've EVER had. -very friendly service (family owned and run) -extremely casual and comfortable atmosphere (long tables covered in checkered picnic tablecloths) -BBQ sauce is sweet and plentiful -ribs were falling off the bone! -cole slaw is great (mustard-based I think) -fried potatoes are okay -DELICIOUS! Try Leatha's! read more

I realize that this place is very well known and has been in business for decades. My opinion is that its reputation exceeds reality. This week I had the pulled pork sandwich plate for lunch. I thought the pork was very basic in taste. Their sauce is extremely sweet. Too much so for me. I also had their beans and slaw. Both were 3's but the pulled pork was a 2. Service was average. I have also had their chicken before and wasn't impressed. Perhaps their ribs are good however I am not a big rib fan. Also they do not serve any brisket here. I am sorry but I have had far better bbq from many other places. Perhaps years ago it was better but my experiences leave a lot to be desired. read more

Hands down best bbq I've ever had. Will be bringing the family down next time. You cnt go wrong eating here read more

Leatha's Bar-B-Que - Ribs & Chicken w/ baked beans and fried potatoes Half & Half - Barbeque Near Me - Petal, Mississippi

On Monday night I wrote a review for a BBQ place in Metter, GA where everything was totally on point - except the meat. Well, the owners of these two places ought to meet up and join forces, because the meat here is killer but everything else? Loaded with sugar instead of flavor. * Sides: Came out before the meal. Never had that before. I chalked it up to local customs. The potato salad was made with hard boiled eggs - unusual, but delicious. Avoid the "special recipe" slaw. The secret ingredient is honey mustard, and lots of it. It's bizarrely sweet and yellow. Maybe try the beans? * Sauce: One sauce. It tastes like a bottle of molasses added to ketchup. Way too sweet, to the point that I regretted adding more to my meat. Made it difficult to finish the meal. * Tea: Sweetest sweet tea I've ever had. Or maybe it was just compounding all the other sugar I was already consuming in the dinner. Needless to say, I didn't have dessert after all that sugar. Again though, the meat is incredible. I asked for a full rib plate and they gave me half beef and half pork. The beef is really tender and probably moist enough to be eaten on its own without sauce (which is definitely what you want to do). The pork is pink all the way through with smoky flavor and most definitely doesn't need sauce. The pork ribs came out crispy - were they reheated? I don't know, but I liked it. I don't know what passes for BBQ in Mississippi. Maybe this is typical style here. But compared to the other BBQ I've had elsewhere, it needs about a cup of sugar removed from all of the ingredients before I can say it ranks. read more